Should Have Known Better

By Cute and Fluffy


Standard Disclaimer:

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters contained therein. This story is not for profit. The plot and any original characters I may create, however, are my own.

This story is rated T for violence and language.


Chapter 1: Eclipsing the Dog's Nose

When Inuzuka Kiba woke up that morning, he had no reason to suspect that it was going to be anything other than a normal day, as far as jounin were allowed to have normal days that is. He woke at the same time he always did on his days off, 5:28 AM and exactly two minutes before his alarm was set to go off. He then got up and began his morning routine: he stretched for fifteen minutes followed by a twenty minute routine of various calisthenic exercises. Afterwards he pulled on a pair of shorts and a wife-beater and he and Akamaru went on their early morning run.

The one thing that Kiba actually liked about waking up early was his run, in fact the only thing capable of pulling him out of bed that early was the eager anticipation he always felt when thinking about it. That and fear of Tsunade's anger should he be late for a mission, of course. The village was quiet and serene, freed from the cacophony that usually assailed his sensitive ears. The variety of smells wafting about on the early morning air, the feel of the wind rushing past his face, his legs pounding the ground beneath him, all combined to give him a rush rivaled only by the feel of a good fight. But however good Kiba was at sticking to his routine, he had never been able to settle down on a single route for his runs. Somehow it seemed almost sacreligious to Kiba to do so, as a great deal of the experience for the Inuzuka was delighting in discovering the hidden sensations that Konoha had to offer. So it wasn't a surprise to Kiba when he found himself running through a training field that he had never seen before. However, what was a surprise to him was the fact that the field was currently occupied by none other than Haruno Sakura.

Now, it wasn't as if Kiba had anything against Sakura. Not at all, in fact he counted her among his good friends. She was, after all, a proud member of the Rookie Nine. No, Kiba simply hadn't expected her to be at a training field this early in the morning, much less a field that looked to be more mud than dirt. It had been raining particularly viciously in Konoha for the past few days and most fields were in rather poor condition. And this particular training ground, while situated on a hill making it a bit more dry than some of the other ones he had seen, was still a disaster. And even worse, it was a bona-fide nightmare, even for a shinobi, to reach. The rain from the storm had run off the top and collected around the bottom of the hill, turning the surrounding area into a veritable swamp. Kiba doubted that there was a single ninja in the village that could reach the top without getting dirty. Perhaps Jiraiya, the pervert was so dirty to begin with the mud would probably slide right off.

Now, Kiba wasn't one to care about the fact that he might get muddy. In fact, if one were to ask him, he'd have to say he rather enjoyed the mud. Perhaps it was a fallback to his childhood and all those rainy days spent playing in puddles and making mud pies. Regardless, he always welcomed the chance to get dirty on these runs of his. It always seemed to help him get more in touch with his inner canine. What had left him so shocked though, was the fact that Sakura seemed to share the same disregard for mud that he did.

Now, it's not like Kiba was stereotyping her or anything. For once, he actually had good reason for one of his assumptions. Anyways, it certainly wasn't as if he was the only who believed that she wasn't the type to let herself get all mud-splattered like that. He could remember the last time that Shikamaru had gotten himself in the hospital. He and Shino had been participating in some no-holds barred sparring when Hinata had rushed over to them with the news and the trio had rapidly rushed to the hospital to check on their friend. Of course, Kiba, being who he was, never thought that his being dirty might matter to the nice medics at the hospital. After all, it wasn't as if he had intentionally gotten dirty. It wasn't his fault that the field he and Shino had been sparring in had looked eerily similar to the ones at the bottom of the hill. Nor was it his fault that the Aburame had gotten in some particularly vicious hits that morning that might have caused him to bleed just the tiniest bit. Besides, it was all in service to Konoha. They should be welcoming such a dedicated and caring shinobi as himself with open arms.

Sakura had quickly relieved him of that delusion. She had torn into him so badly that even Akamaru was left whimpering with his tail between his legs. Grabbing him roughly by the ear, she had dragged him away to a small, but fully functional bathroom behind one of the nurses' stations and, reaching into the tiny shower, had turned the water on cold and had thrown him bodily into the freezing water, all the while completely ignoring his most forceful protests and desperate pleas. He distinctly remembered the wicked smirk that had crossed her face as he came plodding back into Shikamaru's room looking distinctly like a drowned dog.

So it was completely understandable that Kiba reacted to the sight of Sakura looking much like he had before his impromptu shower with a bit of shock. It was at that point that he should have realized that he would be much better running home and hiding beneath his covers; a dirty Sakura had to be some sort of horrible omen. Unfortunately for Kiba, the Inukuzas never were any good at reading omens and their curiosity was simply too strong for their own good. So, like any good Inuzuka, he girded his loins and went over to greet Sakura.

Although he didn't doubt that she had noticed his presence before then, it wasn't until she had finished the kata she had been running through and he started getting more than an inkling of impatience that she acknowledged his presence. Not that he minded... much. After all, if somebody had interrupted him during one of his kata he would have been quite pissed. So he politely (Which, had he taken the time to think about, he should have realized was yet another bad omen in and of itself. After all, who ever heard of a polite Inuzuka?) stood by and waited for her to speak. "Morning, Kiba, Akamaru. What are you guys doing out here so early?" she finally asked.

"I'll have you know that me and Akamaru always go running around this time. I'm more curious as to what you're doing looking like, what was it she said again Akamaru?" The hound barked back her response even though all three of them knew Kiba remembered it quite well. "Oh, that's right. Something the dog dragged in."

He was somewhat appeased when he saw the slight blush that rose to her cheeks and the scent of embarrassment rose faintly from her skin. At least she had the decency to feel somewhat guilty about her treatment of him, even if outwardly she tried to appear like she could care less. "For crying out loud Kiba, that was a hospital! Do you have any idea how nasty you were?" He gave her a deadpanned glare but she ignored it and continued. "You could have gotten someone real sick! What if you had gotten Shikamaru infected? With those wounds he could have died!"

"For god's sake woman, that doesn't mean you have to throw me into a freezing cold shower by my ear!"

That smirk he remembered seeing in the hospital came back and even Akamaru snickered, heedless of the glare his partner gave him, when Sakura bit back, "Yes, it did."

Kiba gave an exasperated sigh and looked up at the slowly brightening sky as if to ask the gods 'Why me?'. "That still doesn't answer my question though."

"Oh, I'm just waiting for Lee."

A smirk eerily similar to the one Sakura wore just moments ago appeared on Kiba's face. "Waiting around for Lee, huh? I wonder how Naruto'd feel about that?"

"Not like that, you moron." She swung at him, but he had already stepped back, a roguish grin widening across his face at her blush. "I've been doing some extra training with him on my taijustu. I could probably teach you a thing or two now." He could practically see the challenge oozing from her eyes.

"Ha, as if! Ain't that right, Akamaru!" The dog barked his agreement.

"Well, if you're so confident how bout you prove it, Kiba-kun?"

In hindsight, he should have known the minute she tacked that kun onto his name to just turn around and leave. For Kiba it was the worst of omens, nothing good ever happened when somebody called him kun, and if had been one of those superstitious Hyuuga he probably would have. Of course, if he had been a Hyuuga he probably wouldn't have gotten out of bed that morning to begin with for fear of the Monkey's Butt eclipsing the Dog's Nose while bisecting the Dragon's Teeth or some other such nonsense (Outside of Hinata, Kiba really didn't have a terribly high opinion of the Hyuuga). Hinata seemed to be the one exception to the rule, but then again he figured it was just the gods trying to make up for forcing her to put up with that stuck-up family of hers. But the last time his mother had used it, for instance, she had ended up breaking their brand-new tv when the frying pan that she had been attempting to smack his father with slipped out of her fingers and went flying. When Kiba had asked why she had been attempting to harm his father with a frying pan his dad had given him a wicked grin and sent him off saying something about understanding when he's older (that had been almost a decade ago). The thought of what he could have potentially walked in on in that kitchen was a recurring theme in his worst nightmares.

Either way, Kiba really did know better than to stick around when someone called him kun. It was bound to cause trouble and he already made enough of that on his own. But for some reason he suddenly heard himself saying, "Anytime, anywhere, forehead. I'll show you how a real ninja fights."

He also should have known better than to use Ino's favorite nickname for the girl. But it was an extremely effective way to get her riled up and that had been his foremost goal at the time. Still, he yet again should have realized that by this point he was practically begging the gods to strike him down. One can only tempt fate so much before she sends destiny to screw with you. Any Hyuuga could tell you that.

Still, it did get the desired results. Her eyes blazed and he almost could have sworn he saw a vein pop out on her forehead. "Right now. Taijutsu only, no Akamaru."

"I don't think so! Akamaru is as much a part of me as that strength is of yours."

"Fine, I won't use my strength and you won't use Akamaru, deal?"

He felt a strange sense of foreboding come over him at that. Of course, by this point it had become a matter of pride and therefore no amount of foreboding was going to prevent him from defending both his honor as an Inuzuka and his masculinity. He just knew that if he let himself get beat by a girl that Naruto was never going to let him live it down. They were still cracking jokes about that first Chuunin exam.

So when she dropped down into her fighting stance Kiba quickly followed into his own. If Kiba was completely honest he would have to admit to feeling a bit of trepidation at the prospect of fighting Sakura. He could count the number of times he had been on missions with the pink-haired kunoichi on one of Akamaru's paws. And as Team 8 had stuck with each other and continued their training together, even while the other teams of the Rookie 9 had broken up, Kiba had never really had the opportunity to train with her either. So he had no idea what to expect from her, especially if she was taking taijutsu tips from Lee. Still, the Inuzukas had never backed down from a fight and Kiba didn't plan on being the first.

She came at him first with a roundhouse kick that would have taken off his head if it had landed, even without her chakra enhanced strength. He jumped back both to avoid it and put some distance between the two of them, but Sakura didn't give him any time to recover. By the time he had regained his footing he looked up to see her coming at him with a powerful right hook. Unable to dodge, Kiba was forced to throw his arms up in a hasty block. He couldn't help wincing as it landed, even without her chakra the woman could still pack a wallop.

She had gotten much better since the last time he had watched her fight, Kiba had to give her that, but not quite as good as he had feared. Even so, unable to rely on the Shikyaku no Jutsu or Akamaru, Kiba was not going to have an easy time with her. Her speed almost rivaled his and he was feeling somewhat hard pressed to block all her attacks. It didn't help that he was finding her quite distracting either. The determined glint in her eye, the slight grin on her face as she pressed her offensive, the rise and fall of her chest and her breathy pants. Not to mention the way she smelled, of sweat and earth and underneath that an intoxicating scent that he'd be hard pressed to describe. Yes, quite distracting.

Finally, he managed to smack one of her punches to the side and counter with a jab of his own that forced her to back away to avoid. The two combatants stared at each other, both slightly out of breath from the exertion. Letting a wild grin spread across his face at the sight of her, Kiba couldn't quite help taunting the pink-haired kunoichi. "Gotta say Forehead, I'm kinda impressed. It seems Lee really has rubbed off on you." He waited a moment and watched as she couldn't help preening a little at the compliment, "It looks like you're missing spandex though..." He couldn't help shivering a little at her gasp of outrage even as he laughed at the look on her face.

The pissed-off kunoichi came at him again, this time managing to land a few good hits as his laughter slowed him down. Despite the pain, the Inuzuka still couldn't help egging Sakura on even further. "I can see it now..." he gasped between laughs and twinges of pain, "Haruno Sakura... The Beautiful Pink Beast of Konoha." She got even faster, her anger feeding her attacks. But the magnificent flush that washed across her skin was more than worth it in Kiba's eyes.

Finally, the Sakura landed a nasty jab on his cheek that sent him flying back several feet. Getting up, Kiba gingerly probed his throbbing cheekbone and winced at the jolt that raced through his body at the touch. He had no doubts that that was going to leave one hell of a bruise. It was more than worth it though, this was the most fun he had had in a long while. That infamous wild grin of his came back full force. "It's my turn now, pinkie."

This time, Kiba charged, feinting with a right jab while following through with a spinning roundhouse kick that Sakura only managed to block. When Sakura attempted to counter with a kick of her own, Kiba dropped down into the four-legged stance he usually reserved for the Shikyaku before coming back up with a powerful elbow strike to her ribs as her momentum carried her partially around and exposed her side.

Sakura flew back and Kiba jumped right after her, somersaulting in mid-air and coming down with a powerful heel strike. When she managed to block he used her hastily crossed arms as leverage to propel him behind her and came at her with a leg sweep as he landed just behind her back. Jumping over it, Sakura jumped away from him again, trying to put some distance between her and her attacked, while twisting her body mid-jump to face him.

Again, Kiba refused to give her time to recover. Once again, dropping into his four-legged stance before launching himself into a bastardized version of the Tsūga, which was perfectly legal as it was technically a taijutsu technique. Unable to use it efficiently though without his Shikyaku no Jutsu, he wasn't at all surprised when she dodged. Instead he halted it's spinning momentum and managed to flip his body around, landing feet first in a horizontal crouch against a nearby tree. Using it as a springboard, he flew at Sakura with a rising kick that she again barely managed to block.

As he tried to land, Sakura attempted to counter-attack, coming in with a powerful left-handed punch. However, instead of blocking it like she had anticipated, Kiba turned slightly to the side, letting her brush his chest, before grabbing her wrist in his left hand and dropping back down into his four-legged stance, pulling her down and off to the side. Sakura, yanked off-balance like that, was unable to prevent him from hopping off a bit to the side and sweeping her legs out from under her. As she fell, Kiba twisted his body and her arm out from underneath her and managed to straddle her in a painful pin as she hit the ground.

Kiba took a moment to try to get his breath back and he noticed Sakura doing the same. She had turned her head to the side, facing the arm he was supporting himself with, to keep from breathing in face-fulls of damp dirt and her pink locks had fallen away from her face, exposing the delicious-looking curve of her ear. After a few seconds, he bent down to whisper some sort of delightful taunt in her ear but found he couldn't remember it when she shifted underneath him, reminding him quite efficiently of their proximity.

Her waist brushed intoxicatingly against his inner thighs as she tried to rid herself of whatever discomfort ailed her. Her shirt had ridden up, exposing the small of her back and the muscles that moved sinuously there, captivating his gaze. The breathy pants that she was making, the feeling of control as she relaxed underneath him, the feel of her breath on his arm as he leaned forward to put pressure into his pin all affected Kiba in ways that he would much rather they didn't. But worst of all, was the smell of her. Gods, he had thought it intoxicating before, but up close it was far worse. That scent had him totally captivated and was just so uniquely her. He had no idea why he had never noticed it before. With his mind clouded by her presence, he never even realized that he had bent down to nuzzle the crook of her neck in a desperate attempt to get closer to her scent until he heard his voice, huskier than he had ever heard himself sound before, "Gods, you smell good..."

Somehow, his voice and the sharp intake of her breath at the intimate contact penetrated the haze that clouded his mind. Suddenly the saying that hindsight is 20/20 never seemed more true as the only thought that accompanied his newfound clarity was, 'You know... I really should have known better...'


Quick notes for this chapter:

1. I seem to be a fan of unusual couples, but I just can't help but think that Sakura and Kiba would make a cute couple. For all his bluster, I think Kiba's just a big puppy dog and while he may be loud and obnoxious at times it's my opinion that that doesn't mean that he doesn't know how to appreciate a comfortable silence. You can't spend every second with someone (Akamaru) without being able to. And I think that Sakura needs some one who can cheer her up with his antics when he needs to, but is also able to just quietly sit back and support her. In my mind, Kiba fits both criteria. You're more than welcome to disagree, but why are you reading this if you do?

2. This is only a side project so don't expect regular updates here. I'll write them up as the mood strikes me and post them on here, but I won't be intentionally setting aside time to work on this.

This doesn't mean that I don't intend to finish it. I really like the story and have every intention of seeing it through to its conclusion, but just that updates won't necessarily be as quick as you might like.

If any of ya'll have any other thoughts on the story, please let me know. This story is as much for your entertainment as it is my edification. Your input is greatly appreciated and will be given the consideration it deserves.


Published on: 9.28.08 (12:31 am)

Updated on: 10.10.08 (5:50 pm)


Jak

ジャック (Jyakku)